


The Case of the Missing Movie Star

by uhlemi11



Category: Veronica Mars (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Post-Season/Series 03, Post-Series Pre-Movie, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:34:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22701814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uhlemi11/pseuds/uhlemi11
Summary: Trina Echolls is back in town and her bff Ashton Kutcher has gone missing. Can Veronica track him down?
Relationships: Logan Echolls/Veronica Mars
Comments: 20
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place post season 3 but Veronica and Logan have managed to stay together despite the Madison thing. It's been awhile since I watched the end of season 3 so it might not be totally in compliance with those events.  
> This is to-be- continued.  
> 

Chapter 1  
“Surfing’s easy Ronnie, I can’t believe you’ve never been,” Dick said. “Although I guess they don’t sell surf boards at the Dollar Store, huh?”  
“No, you just can’t get them with food stamps,” Veronica countered back, robbing Dick of the chance to say it himself.  
“I bet you'll be a natural,” Her boyfriend, Logan Echolls said, "you ready?"  
“As I’ll ever be,” Veronica sighed. After Veronica had complained, more like mentioned, one time, that she never saw him Logan had offered to give her a surfing lesson, so that she could join him in his favorite hobby, and his obnoxious friend Dick. She should have specified alone, I never see you alone. Veronica was kicking herself. She would rather be kicking Dick.  
“It’s really not that hard,” Logan said, “you know, if Dick can do it.”  
“Hey,” Dick protested, “I do a lot of hard things, a lot of hard things,” he repeated, winking.  
“That’s what it says on the men’s room wall,” Veronica quipped.  
"What men's room?" Dick asked, confused.  
“Yeah, Dick I don’t think that works there.” Logan agreed.  
“Your mom thought it worked there just fine, last night."  
"My mom?" Logan still did that, Veronica thought. He perked up when anyone mentioned his mom, like she was still out there, using her credit card, answering Dick's booty calls.  
"No," Dick scoffed, "I meant Veronica's mom, oh whoops, forgot, she ran off and left you, huh?"  
"Yet I never forgot what a ginormous tool you are!" That was unfortunately about to be the highlight of Veronica's day.  
“What are you doing in the men’s room Ronnie?” Dick asked.  
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want to know the answer to.”

Veronica slipped off her board and took in a mouthful of sea water. The board, rejoicing at being free from her flew into the air, then smacked back down on top of her head just as she resurfaced, gargling salt water.  
“You okay?” Logan’s arms were around her a second later, pulling her from the water.  
“Yes,” Veronica cursed. The smack to her head had just succeeded in making her head sore, and her brain cranky,er. If she’d been knocked out she wouldn’t have had to take in the sight of Dick striding a wave like a men’s shampoo commercial as two bikini clad girls checked him out.  
“That’s like the third time that’s happened,” Logan said.  
“No, it’s been seven times,” Veronica said through gritted teeth, “and every time I come to to this!”  
“Aww so you fell down a couple times, you think I didn’t fall when I was learning to surf?”  
“You were 6!”  
“Well 10, but that’s not the point.”  
“Hey Logan, remember that lesson you took with Kate Bosworth?” Dick had joined them, “that was when she was training for Blue Crush.”  
“What a role model,” Veronica snarked.  
“What’s the matter Ronnie?” Dick asked, “couldn’t keep it up?”  
There was a row of raucous laughter. Veronica recognized the voice immediately. It was Madison Sinclair surrounded by a posse of her friends with matching bikini sets.  
“And that will be my cue to leave,” Veronica made a mad dash for the parking lot.  
“Hey,” Logan stepped in front of her, “don’t let Dick get to you, he’s just messing around.”  
“He’s not getting to me,” Veronica lied.  
"Madison then, she's just here for Dick."  
Oh I bet she is, Veronica thought, staring murderously up the beach. It was easier to pretend Madison's and Logan's "thing", as she thought of it, had never happened when she wasn't staring at the heinous monster herself.  
"We can go somewhere else," Logan said, "just the two of us."  
Madison touched Dick's bicep and giggled so high pitched Veronica was surprised dogs didn't start barking. If she didn't get out of here soon she was going to lose it. She didn’t want to be good at something Dick was good at and that impressed the likes of Madison Sinclair. “It’s just, I don’t think I want to surf, it’s,” she cupped a hand over her eyes and glanced back up the beach, “For shallow people.”  
“Shallow.” Logan said.  
“I didn’t mean you.”  
“Just...”  
“Everyone else.” Veronica waved a hand down the beach. She was tired of this conversation. She was tired of this beach, tired of Neptune, tired of running into everyone from Neptune High that she should never have to see again. She had graduated almost a year ago yet here was, like she'd never left. Maybe because she hadn't.  
“Yeah, well sorry it’s not all affairs and blackmail.” Logan looked down at the ground. Veronica wanted to hug him and tell him that he was the least shallow person she knew. That he was the only one she wasn’t tired of. But just thinking those words made her feel too vulnerable, in a way she had promised herself she would never be again after that morning when she had woken up at Shelley Pomeroy’s party. And then again, when she had of course broken this pact with herself and let her mother back into her life. She searched for words she could say to Logan and found only sand under her fingernails. She picked at it angrily.  
“Logan!” She heard Dick’s voice up the beach, “you guys finished breaking up or whatever?”  
When Logan looked back for a split second a look of longing crossed his face. Longing for the sea, the surf, his friend. The heinous sea monster? No, not that she could see, but it still hurt that he would want to be near Madison more than he would want to be near her. It was only a split second before he masked it and turned back to Veronica like this conversation was more important, but Veronica seized upon it.  
“He’s all yours!” She called back, opening the door to her Saturn and starting the engine.  
It was only after she had driven off with Logan’s face burned into her rearview mirror that she realized what that had sounded like.  
Would he still be hers when she found the right words to say?

Veronica jingled Backup’s leash, “does somebody want to go for a walk?” She cooed. The pitbull nearly knocked her over as he lept into her arms.  
There weren’t a lot of woods in Neptune California. Veronica usually walked Backup on the beach but she’d had enough of surf and surfers. She needed to get away from it all. They hopped in her car and they drove to her favorite trail just outside Neptune.  
As they walked Veronica felt her stress sliding away. She was even starting to regret putting sand in Madison's gas tank.  
Backup barked at a squirrel, or a chipmunk, Suddenly Backup lunged forward so hard he pulled the leash out of Veronica’s hand. He went plowing off the side of the trail into a swath of trees, barking furiously.  
Veronica called him,” Backup! Here boy!"  
"God damn dog,” she hissed under her breath as she broke into a run after him. There was some kind of camp ahead. Backup had stopped and was wagging his tail excitedly. Veronica was able to grab the leash and pull him back, “Backup chill!”  
It was probably some homeless person and Veronica wasn’t about to scare them half to death. Just as Veronica was catching her breath Backup lunged forward again, sending Veronica spinning. Who the hell had a pink camo tent? This had to be the tackiest homeless person ever. Did they not realize making it pink defeated the point of making it camo?  
“Backup, Let’s go,” she said and she gave the leash a half hearted tug. Like Backup her attention was caught by the scene in front of her. Someone had hung a disco ball from the branch of a tree and as Veronica watched it twirled around, casting red and blue light on the forest floor. Veronica’s eyes followed an extension cord that ran into a lime green Volkswagen Beetle with the engine running. This wasn’t some homeless person. This was… what exactly? As Veronica stepped closer she saw a ladybug rug, a pair of Manolo Blahniks (she wouldn’t have been able to tell if she had just recently seen a pair just like it on Logan’s floor. He assured her they were his sister’s, she frowned now, wondering if she should have believed that line.) There was also a jar of what looked like quite expensive eye cream? Toenail cream? Ear cream? Wherever rich people liked to put cream, and a pile of People magazines. So it was a very shallow homeless person, who recently robbed a Sephora store and was now hiding out?  
Backup started growling. “Easy boy.” She jerked on his leash and turned around, ready to run. Whatever was going on out here, she didn’t want any part of it.  
“Woah!” As she turned around she collided with someone.  
“Veronica!” said s familiar voice that sounded way too excited. “Veronica Mars! It is you! Oh my god, how did you find me? And what have you done with your hair! I’m loving it!”  
“Hi Trina,” Veronica barely had time to say before she found herself mashed in a giant bear hug into Trina Echolls’s faux fur lined jacket. 

“So what are you doing here?” Veronica asked when Trina had let her go and she had feeling back in her face.  
“Oh you know the press darling, always hounding me, those dogs, just a little weekend getaway.”  
“In the woods? Camping in the woods?” Veronica knew Trina’s idea of a weekend getaway was more like taking a private jet to Maui. And the press was more likely to run away from Trina than the other way around.  
“Glamping,” Trina corrected. “It’s all the rage right now, haven’t you read the news?” She handed Veronica one of the People magazines.  
“I’ll take your word for it,” Veronica said, dodging the magazine. “But really Trina you’re in town and you don’t even write? There’s not a ‘wish you were here’ postcard shop?”  
“Oh you mean Logan?” Trina asked, “I heard about dad, you know,” she mimed putting a finger gun to her head, “so sad, I’ve been meaning to give him a call.”  
“How thoughtful.” Veronica gave a sad smile, knowing that it was an empty promise but also that the promise of a phone call from Logan’s last remaining relative would do little more than annoy him.  
“So why are you really here?” She said directly. She was tired of dealing with BS today.  
“I told you!” Trina exclaimed. “The press, you don’t know how relentless they can be! Be grateful you are just a nobody. Once you are a big star like me that’s it, there’s no more privacy in your life, ever again,” Trina snapped her fingers, “just like that.”  
“Well then,” Veronica was tired of this conversation, this ridiculous scenario. She had wanted to go for a walk in the woods so she wouldn’t have to deal with people and their drama and lies. “I’ll tell Logan I saw you, or I won’t, whatever you prefer.” She tugged on Backup’s leash and turned to go.  
“Wait, Veronica,” Trina said, “I lied.”  
“Of course you did. But it’s none of my business, really.”  
Trina let out a big dramatic sigh, “I could use your help. It’s my boyfriend.”  
“You’re hiding out from your boyfriend?” It wouldn’t be the first time Trina had dated someone violent, Veronica thought back to the night she had witnessed Trina and Logan’s father beat up the last sleeze who had been hitting Trina.  
“He’s a great guy,” Trina said, “but we had this misunderstanding and I think he might have murdered someone.”  
“Sounds like a great guy. Why do you think he murdered someone?”  
“He thought Ashton Kutcher and I were having an affair.”  
Veronica groaned internally. She should have taken Backup and ran.  
“It was stupid,” Trina continued, “I just said that we did for a publicity stunt, I got in four magazines!”  
“Congratulations.” Veronica said flatly.  
“Thanks. But Julio didn’t believe me, he kept saying how he was going to kill him! And now,” she rummaged through her stack of People magazines. She held one up, “this!”  
“Paris Hilton?” Veronica made a face, “please say he killed Paris Hilton.”  
“What? No, that’s the wrong one,” Trina flipped through the magazines again, “this!”  
“ASHTON KUTCHER Missing!” Read big letters beneath a picture of the actor’s face.  
“I just know Julio’s done something awful to him, and I’m afraid I’ll be next!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica takes Trina to Logan's to hide out and find out more information. Trina does not understand the concept of hiding. As Trina and Logan trade barbs Veronica becomes concerned about his emotional well being and they reflect on family.

Chapter 2

“Pick up, pick up,” Veronica gritted her teeth and drove with one hand while she squashed her phone between her ear and her shoulder.  
“You’ve reached Logan and here’s today’s inspirational message,” recited Logan’s voicemail. Veronica had already gotten it six times and that was one more call past desperate. “It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. Aristotle. Beeep!”  
“Logan, where are you? I really need to talk to you,”  
“Is that,” Trina, who had been huddled in the driver seat in a ball, either because of Veronica’s driving or at the indignity at being forced to ride in such an inelegant car, suddenly reached out and grabbed the phone. “Logan we’re going to be at the house in fifteen minutes. Can you get my armoire out of storage? I only have one suitcase with me. And could you get Rosa to make me a grilled cheese sandwich? And a diet coke, don’t forget the diet coke, k byee!  
Wow,” she turned to Veronica, “that was one of the best conversations I’ve ever had with him.”  
“What are you talking about? That was his voicemail. I was leaving a message.” Veronica asked. “And you do know we’re not going to your house right? I mean your family’s house? You know that burned down?”  
“Oh my god, you’re totally right, I keep forgetting. What a bummer. Oh well I haven’t gone new clothes shopping in like weeks.”  
Veronica put on her blinker and turned into the parking lot of the Neptune Grand.  
“He’s still here?” Trina asked. “Why doesn’t he just get a real place?”  
Veronica was trying Logan’s cell one more time as she let herself into his room. The foyer and living area were empty.  
“Where’s my diet coke?” Trina frowned.  
Veronica rang Logan’s cell again, but she was startled when she heard it ringing on the couch. Just then Logan walked in, from the shower, it looked like, with only a towel around his waist.  
“Hey little brother,” Trina greeted him. By the look on his face he obviously hadn’t listened to the message.  
“Your highness,” he blinked, at which Trina looked pleased.  
“I tried to call you,” Veronica explained.  
“Huh, would you look at that,” Logan said, turning over the phone, “must have been on vibrate.”  
“Would you have put on pants?” Trina made a face.  
“I might have put on a nicer towel.” he disappeared into the bedroom.  
“Where’s my diet coke?” Trina began looking through the kitchen. 

After Logan had changed and Trina had ordered room service they all sat on the couch. Logan played a video game absently, only casually moving his wrist on the controller while Trina told them how she had met Julio. Who Trina thought she was talking to, Veronica wasn't certain. She spoke to the room behind Logan's head like there were hidden cameras back there and they were all part of some reality show like The Real World, which Veronica found herself wondering if Trina had ever been booted from.  
"The movie’s brilliant, just brilliant, it’s got Kevin Costner, and Goldie Hawn and that little kid that used to be cute but got weird, you know from the Star Wars movies."  
"So what's your role again?" Logan asked, casually sending a flaming car over a cliff with a flick of a wrist.  
"I am a waitress," Trina said.  
Logan laughed, "doesn't the waitress always want to be an actress?"  
Trina glared at him. " I am an actress," she said huffily, "playing a waitress, there's a big difference."  
"So how many lines have you got?"  
"It's not always about lines. A great actress communicates without having to say anything at all."  
"I'd like to see you try that sometime," Logan said.  
"Let me know if you ever make a movie," Trina snided. "Then we'll have a deal."  
"So where did you meet Julio?" Veronica asked.  
"He was the director's assistant's girlfriend's brother's friend."  
"Ahh, so kind of like how you're the main character's friend's waitress?" Logan said.  
"Remind me, how many movies have you starred in little brother?"  
"I have a recurring role on The Tinseltown Diaries," Logan said, " and I don't even want to be an actor."  
Trina rolled her eyes, "everyone wants to be an actor," she said.  
"Sorry to interrupt," Veronica interrupted, "but, so how does Julio know Ashton Kutcher?"  
"He doesn't, he just gets insanely jealous when I bring him up, from work."  
"So you're working on a project together?" Veronica asked.  
"I tried out for Punk'd."  
"How do you audition for that show?" Veronica asked.  
"She didn't," Logan said, " she just dropped her phone in the bathroom at Disneyland, and that's what she tells everyone happened."  
"I did too try out for Punk'd Logan, you don't know everything about my life."  
"Thank God for that."  
"It was when you were busy crying about your little girlfriend dumping you," Trina snarled.  
"She didn't dump me, she was murd- dad murdered her."  
"Yeah, after she dumped you."  
"Can we get back to the topic," Veronica felt like a referee. A referee had to stay impartial, even when they felt like pelting one of the player's in the head with the ball.  
"Okee dokee," Trina said. "Anyway, even though they didn't end up using my scene on the show Ashton and I stayed in touch and well Julio just couldn't handle it."  
Logan laughed. Trina ignored him.  
"There was more, you said earlier there was a magazine article that said you were dating."  
"It was a publicity stunt," Trina wailed, "I normally wouldn't stoop so low but I was desperate!"  
"Was desperate?" Logan asked. Luckily Trina ignored him again.  
"I just let a little rumor slip to this writer's friend I know from the Daily Star and the next thing I know it's in all the papers, and Ashton is missing!" She let out a sob.  
"Maybe he killed himself," Logan suggested. "You know if the rumors were true."  
"Like your mom did," Trina said, narrowing her eyes at him, "because she couldn't stand being your mom anymore?" Veronica swallowed hard and looked between them anxiously, like they were athletes on the field and were swinging hockey sticks around. She knew Logan and Trina bickered, and could be downright vile to each other, but damn.  
Logan smiled a tight lipped smile and gave the controller one final forceful shove that sent his virtual car spinning into oncoming traffic. The sound was muted but Veronica could see it explode on the screen behind his head.  
"I'm just glad your mom abandoned you in a bathroom, means I don't have any of the same genes as you," he said, getting up off the couch and disappearing down the hall that led to the bedroom.  
"Right back at ya," Trina said, then turned to Veronica and said pleasantly, "so where were we?"  
"About to take a break," Veronica said, looking after Logan.  
"Oh thank god," Trina said, grabbing the remote and flipping on MTV. “This questioning in intense.”  
Veronica followed Logan down the hall. She found him lying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.  
"That was some family reunion, huh?" She said, trying to judge the mood of the room.  
"I think I'd rather watch about it on the Tinseltown Diaries," Logan said hollowly.  
"You guys ever think about holding back?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Just that you don't have to be at each other's throats all the time." Veronica sat beside him on the bed.  
"Yes we do," Logan said matter of factly.  
" It might be nice to have family, Trina's," Veronica stopped, she had been about to say, all the family you have left but decided Logan was all too aware of that fact. “I mean, is it nice at all? Having her here?”  
“Better she’s here than in the trunk of some dude’s car, I guess.”  
“You guess?”  
“Just thinking, considering my family, maybe I’m better off alone.”  
“That’s not,” Veronica started to argue, then stopped. “I’m sorry,” she said instead.  
“For what? You didn’t do anything.”  
“Just that I can’t... give you a better family.”  
“Let’s make a new family,” Logan said, kissing her.  
Veronica made a face, “talk about mood killer.”  
“In like ten years.”  
"Aww," Veronica let out a breath, "maybe."  
"I still think about her," Logan said.  
"Who? Trina?"  
"My mom."  
Of course Veronica knew this, but yet, she also did not, longing for your mother at 19 was something private, something she and Logan shared yet did not share, with anyone.  
"That's perfectly normal," she said now, and she may as well have been speaking to herself as to Logan.  
"Just wondering where she is, what she's doing."  
"You mean like Heaven?" Veronica was taken aback, she would have never guessed Logan believed in such a place.  
"Yeah, or Earth. You know they never found her body."  
"Ri-ight," Veronica said slowly. But what about the video where they had seen her, falling, in the background, into the **bay? She did not ask. She thought about that too, not about Lynn Echolls, but her own mother, Leanne Reynolds. Usually she thought her mother was probably up to no good. The one that loves you is the one that stays. When Veronica caught herself longing for her mother she centered her thoughts back on her dad. But Logan didn't have that, his mother, the one that left him, was actually the better of the two. Veronica couldn't imagine not having her dad. Which was why she wished desperately that Logan and his sister, adopted sister, could just be civil to each other for even a moment.  
"I'm sure she thinks about you too," Veronica said, though she did not believe in Heaven, and thought the idea that Lynn could still be alive somewhere, equally hard to to believe.  
"I wasn't such a great son."  
"That's just Trina talking. She didn't leave because of you, she left because of your dad."  
"Yeah, well, I didn't stop him."  
"You were a kid," Veronica said, knowing that when Logan got to talking this way logic had little effect on him. "It's not like she ever stopped him." From hurting Logan or herself.  
"Do you think she's still out there somewhere?"  
"No," Veronica said flatly. This had gone on long enough. "And take it from me, the sooner you can stop expecting her to come back, the better off you'll be." She kept her eyes down, hoping Logan would not hear the quaver in her voice. She'd be lying if she said she never fantasized about her own mother coming back, clean this time, and repentant. She hated that she still thought about her at all.  
"You're right," Logan said hollowly. He was quiet for awhile and they just lay on the bed staring into the dark.  
Veronica found lying silent in a dark room with only her thoughts...uncomfortable. There were things to do- bad guys to catch, celebrities to track down. When you kept moving your thoughts couldn’t keep up with you. With nothing to do her mind started to drift, first to her mother, but she concentrated on stopping those thoughts by focusing instead on the case, what she knew- which wasn’t much, in this case not enough to keep her mind from wandering back to this morning, and Madison Sinclair. Madison and Dick, Madison and Logan, oh God, she needed to get up.  
Trina was passed out on the couch when Veronica emerged from the bedroom so Veronica headed to the Mars Investigations office.  
She typed ‘Ashton Kutcher missing’ into Google, sat back and read. It had made the papers when Lilly was murdered. She’d had several other high profile cases- the bus crash, when she’d helped Wallace out of a jam with basketball phenom Rashard Rucker. But she’d never had a case with this much free reading material before. She was a little disappointed she wasn’t going to have to hack into any websites- she missed Mac.  
Veronica was so engrossed in an article she didn’t notice her dad come in. The article interviewed several of Ashton’s close friends and family (it didn’t look like Trina had made the cut), all of them reported he had been acting strange. A friend mentioned Ashton had been giving all his money away, there were receipts to charities to prove it.  
“Ashton Kutcher?” her dad asked.  
Veronica swiveled around in her chair.  
“Is that for school?” her dad had an amused expression on his face.  
“He’s missing,” Veronica said, “Trina Echolls thinks her boyfriend might have killed him, she’s hiding out at Logan’s while I look into it.”  
Keith frowned, “why can’t you just do normal teenage girl things once in awhile?”  
“I’m only a teenager for four more months.”  
“Try to enjoy it,” Keith said. 

Veronica returned to Logan’s later, after her father had gone out with Alicia Fennel. They had recently begun seeing each other again, Alicia finally able to forgive Keith for his meddling into her private affairs. Veronica had originally been horrified when they had started dating, she was one of her best friend’s mom for crying out loud. But now she felt buoyed by their reunion. If her dad could make it work with Alicia maybe there was hope for Mars family in the romance department.  
There was loud Pink music emanating from the hotel room. Veronica opened the door and nearly collided with a guy. “You aren’t my room service,” he remarked. The room was packed with people, mostly gorgeous 20 somethings. In the middle of the living room was Trina, dancing on top of the coffee table with one high heel and one socked foot. She saw Veronica and stumbled off, to cheers from the audience.  
“Hey girlfriend,” she picked herself up and sauntered over.  
“Hey yourself, what is all this?”  
“Just throwing myself a little welcome home party. You know, since you and Logan aren’t going to.”  
“I thought you were keeping a low profile?”  
Trina looked blank.  
“You know, hiding out, from your possible murderer boyfriend?”  
“Oh this is just a little gathering,” Trina waved a hand, “close friends only.”  
Veronica bit her lip.  
One girl came over crying and Trina rushed to her, cradling her head in her arms, “I know, I know, but he’s only been missing for a week, there’s still hope.” Veronica saw several party goers wearing shirts with “Find Ashton” printed on them, over a picture of the actor’s face.  
Veronica found Logan in the bedroom.  
“Aww, you’re better than room service,” he greeted her.  
“Sorry about today,” he said.  
"About the surfing, or finding your sister?"  
"Ok both. I don’t know what I was thinking.”  
“You were thinking it would be nice to spend some time together.” She was pleased with her response, so congenial. She wasn’t going to bring up Madison, she had forgiven Logan and it was over. They didn’t need to talk about it anymore.  
“But surfing, doesn’t scream Veronica Mars.” He laced his fingers through hers.  
“No, I was doing the screaming.”  
“Nonsense, you were a perfect lady,” Logan said, kissing her.  
Veronica laughed, “ha!”  
“You know, you don’t have to help Trina with this,” Logan said.  
“Are you kidding? I have a chance to track down Ashton Kutcher. Isn’t that every teen girl detective’s dream?”  
“I wouldn’t get your hopes up, I mean, she’s probably lying.”  
Veronica pretended to look shocked, “A lying client! Whatever will I do?”  
Logan sighed, “whatever, do what you want.”  
“I always do,” Veronica said with a smile.  
“At least we can enjoy a little quality family time in the meantime eh?”  
“That’s the spirit,” Veronica threw her arms around his neck.  
“So how long until you leave me for Ashton Kutcher?”  
“Let’s see, big shot celebrity movie star, I don’t know, it might take me the rest of the week to track him down.”  
“Then let’s enjoy what time we have left,” Logan pushed her onto the bed.  
“You know, he could be dead,” Veronica said, wrapping her legs around him.  
"Now that's what a guy wants to hear.” 

"What do you mean you don't know his last name?" Veronica was talking to Trina the next morning, or rather it was afternoon, but Trina had just risen. She was standing in front of the refrigerator with a water bottle pressed to her face.  
"It's not helping," she groaned.  
"You're not helping," Veronica reminded her.  
"I want to, I really do, but honestly I can't remember."  
"I thought you said you were dating."  
"Oh like you remember the last name of every guy you've dated," Trina scoffed.  
"Actually," Veronica started but then decided to let it slide. "It's just going to make finding him a lot trickier if I don't have a last name." Tricky, but not the first time she would have done it.  
"Mmm!" Trina exclaimed, "I just remembered, it started with a B, or an R, I saw him sign his name once."  
"Super, that only leaves 2/26ths of all possibilities."  
"You know who might know it? JD! We used to go out with JD all the time!" Trina pulled a phone out of her pocket.  
"You didn't turn that on did you?" Veronica asked right as Trina exclaimed loudly into the phone, "JD! Where were you last night?"  
Veronica reached over and grabbed the phone out of Trina's hand, shutting it.  
"That was rude!"  
"You shouldn't even have your phone on, let alone be calling anyone on it!"  
"You expect me to turn my phone off?" Trina asked incredulously and Veronica realized she should have never assumed Trina had turned her phone off.  
"Julio can trace your phone and find you."  
Trina had been reaching out for her phone, which just at that moment started ringing. Trina gasped.  
"It's JD," Veronica held up the phone. She held it out of Trina's reach. Trina stretched for it and jumped up and down like a toddler trying to grab a cookie.  
"He'll think I'm ghosting him!"  
"Set up an anonymous email address and email him," she instructed. She opened the phone once it stopped ringing and powered it off. Trina let out a moan. Veronica took out the battery and put it in her pocket. When Trina wasn't looking she'd find a hiding place for it.  
"Don't tell him where you are," Veronica added.  
"JD didn't kill Ashton," Trina protested.  
"The more people that know where you are the easier it will be for Julio to find you." Veronica said, wondering if she should even bother at this point, since roughly twenty five people had been at the party last night. Maybe they should move Trina? But where?  
"Where's Logan this morning?" Trina asked.  
"It's 1:30, and he's surfing, with Dick."  
Trina made a face, "ugh, that guy is such a tool."  
Veronica decided she did want to save Trina's life after all. "I think you better come with me," she said.  
"We can go out? I thought you said we couldn't!"  
"We'll disguise you."  
"Where are we going?" Trina looked so excited Veronica felt bad disappointing her.  
"Casa de Mars," she said.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trina hides out at Veronica and Keith's and Veronica finds Julio. Trina may be keeping something from Veronica.  
> More Logan and Veronica coming in Chapter 4!

Chapter 3

"You really live here?" After Veronica finally got the door open, much key shimmying, and a few lower door kicks, Trina followed her in, wide eyed, looking around like she was a traveler in an exotic land.  
"Really, really."  
"What hotel did you say this was?"  
"It's an apartment," Veronica said.  
"I've been in an apartment before," Trina said. "When I was auditioning for ** we lived in a townhouse for three weeks, there were thirty two of us."  
"Oh well, that's um, great." Veronica struggled for words, wondering if she was slightly crazy for bringing Trina here.  
"You have a pool!" Trina had wandered to the window. "I think I have a bikini somewhere."  
"Trina," Veronica said, stepping over and closing the blinds, "we're in hiding, remember?"  
"Oh c'mon, who's going to see me here? I've lost like three pounds," Trina pouted.  
"Not worth the risk Trina," Veronica reminded.  
"I'll just take a bath then," Trina said.  
"Don't exactly have a bathtub."  
"What happened to it? Did someone steal it?"  
"Yeah, the pool boy."  
"Is that why you don't want to go to the pool?"  
"You can't have forgotten, we just talked about this."  
"Fine, whatever, do you at least have internet around here?"  
"Why?" Veronica asked suspiciously.  
"I'm going to email JD like you said, I won't tell him where I am," she rolled her eyes. "I want to ask him Julio's last name. I'm being helpful."  
"Okay," Veronica logged onto her computer and let Trina sit down at her desk. She watched as emailed JD from an anonymous email address and then watched as she browsed Ebay.  
"You can't use your credit card," Veronica reminded Trina.  
Trina let out an infuriated sigh, "being in hiding is not nearly as much fun as it is to play on television."  
Veronica had to agree. She was bored out of her mind watching Trina watching YouTube videos and exclaiming- "that's me!" at some blurry redhead in the background. Once she logged onto her Myspace page Veronica excused herself to go get a snack.  
Keith had just arrived home and Veronica warned him about their house guest.  
“Trina Echolls?” he said, setting a bag of groceries down on the counter. “I wish I’d known, I’d have bought something fancier than hot dogs and tomato soup for dinner.”  
“We could tell her it’s something endangered,” Veronica said, taking the hotdogs out of the bag and placing them in the freezer, “rich people love eating endangered animals. Or we could say if it’s not prepared properly we could all die!”  
“Isn’t that blowfish?”  
“Trina won’t know the difference.”  
“So how much trouble is she in?”  
“I don’t know. I’m just trying to hide her from her boyfriend until I can learn a little more about the guy, but she seems hell bent on being found.”  
“Trina doesn’t have the greatest track record with guys,” her dad said. Veronica had told him the story of how Aaron Echolls had beat the last violent boyfriend she’d had to a bloody pulp in front of her and Logan. “I don’t want her getting you mixed up with that.”  
“That’s why I have Backup.”  
“You can’t always have a dog with you.”  
“That’s why I have backup backup,” Veronica flashed her taser.  
Her dad sighed, “just promise me you’ll be careful.”  
“Aren’t I always?” Veronica smiled, “no wait, don’t answer that.”  
Her dad kissed the top of her head, “and I don’t want you eating any blowfish.”  
“Deal.”

"Umm Trina?" After dinner Veronica was closing all the pages Trina had left open. "What's this?"  
"My Myspace page?"  
"You posted a note, about staying here."  
"I only said positive things dahling. I posted a picture of dinner." Her face fell, “we won’t get in trouble will we? I didn’t say that it was endangered Californian wild boar.”  
"It’s not about the food. But the point of coming here was to hide where you are." Veronica said as nicely as she could manage, which wasn't very at the moment.  
"Oh right!" Trina exclaimed, "we're still doing that, oops!"  
"You compared staying here to The Little House on the Prairie?"  
“Little House on the Prairie meets Hollywood Story. I'm hoping Ron Howard reads this, I'm thinking a TV series. I'm thinking Mira Survino could play you. Bruce Willis for your dad." Trina reached for the computer, "I put Ron in my top 8 so he'll have to help out, he'll like owe me."  
Veronica grabbed the laptop and snapped it shut. "I'll be taking that, and Mira Survino is way too old."

Veronica may have spent too much time on Trina's Myspace page. Trina had a lot of photos of herself and celebrities, there was Trina and John Travolta, Trina and Adam Sandler, Trina and Colin Firth, Trina and Prince William, Trina and Paris Hilton, Trina and Ashton Kutcher. Wait, Veronica stopped on that one. She zoomed in and she could see an outline around Ashton's finger. He had been copied and pasted. So Trina might not know Ashton but she knew someone who knew photoshop, poorly. She went back through the photos and if she zoomed in she could find the traces of photo shop on all of them. At least Paris Hilton wasn't at Logan's last night, she thought with relief. Wait, this one wasn't photoshopped. She zoomed in on the picture and then zoomed out.  
''Me and Julio <3." Read a caption under the photo.  
Veronica went back to look through Trina's friends. No 'Julio' in the top 8 but there was 'Ron Howard,' just like Trina had said. Also 'Ashton Kutcher.' Motive enough for murder? Trina has 7,236 friends. Veronica did a search for Julio. Julio Banderos, Julio Donovan, and Julio Rodriguez. Julio Rodriguez looked the most like the man in Trina's photo, although the woman he was with in his photo did not resemble Trina in the least. Not unless she had a belly button ring.  
Veronica clicked on his page. In his About Me section it said he lived on a Bermudan island with his girlfriend Tiffany. In his photo he was sitting next to a girl in a bikini sipping disgustingly bright orange and red drinks with little umbrellas in them.  
Is that the kind of page you'd put up if you were on the run for murdering Ashton Kutcher? Veronica wondered, or was there maybe just the slightest possibility Julio wasn't at all interested in tracking Trina down?  
He was online. Veronica's fingers hovered over the keys then she took the plunge.  
"Hey," she wrote, posing as Trina.  
She waited, and waited, no response. After five minutes she logged out of Trina's account and onto her own. Yes, it was slightly embarrassing to have her own myspace account but it came in handy sometimes. People volunteered so much information about themselves on there, it made her job almost too easy. But then, when you lived paycheck to paycheck the way the Mars family did there was no such thing as a too easy job.  
She searched for Julio Rodriguez and then scrolled through the results until she found the right one. She added him as a friend and two minutes later he had accepted her.  
"Hey," Veronica was about to message him when he messaged her first.  
"Hey yourself," she wrote back.  
"Do I know you? Cuz I want to"  
"Don't you remember?"  
"I'd definitely remember a face like yours"  
Oh this was going to be easy.  
"I'm a friend of," she scrolled through his friends list until she found an appropriate picture, "Becky's" she typed and hit send.  
"Cool cool  
So you wanna hang out sometime?"  
"What about your girlfriend?"  
"Tiffany? We're not together no more"  
"Tiffany? No, not her, there was another girl- Trina?"  
Julio is writing a message...nothing...Julio is writing a message...nothing...Julio is writing a message…  
"Becks told you about her? Did she tell you she's crazy?" Julio finally sent.  
"No I didn't hear that"  
"Well she is  
She's nuts  
I dumped her along time ago"  
"I heard she dumped you  
For Ashton Kutcher"  
"Where'd you hear that?"  
"A magazine"  
"Oh yeah the magazines  
They got it partially right  
Except I dumped her before she ever lied about dating Ashton whatshisname"  
"Becky didn't tell me that"  
"She doesn't know. Like I said Trina is totally crazy  
Take my word for it"  
"Crazy how?"  
"She's totally obsessed with being famous  
And she's totally obsessed with Ashton  
Like cuts out pictures of him and photoshops herself into them  
I wouldn't be surprised if she murdered him herself just to make the papers"  
"Wow I had no idea"  
"Yeah well I don't harp on it  
I've moved on  
I'm free and single now"  
"That's good to hear"  
"Yeah, so you wanna come over?  
You don't like know Trina right?  
I'll send you my address  
Just don't tell her where I am."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica finds a key piece of evidence in the Ashton Kutcher case. Veronica and Logan have it out, re: Madison. Someone from Veronica's past is connected to the case.

Chapter 4  
Veronica rose early the next morning, not because she wanted to, but because Trina was talking in her sleep.   
“Mmm Ashton, don’t, there’s children watching.”  
“Wake up,” Veronica nudged her with her foot, then gave her a kick when that failed to rouse her.   
“I said no roleplay,” Trina sleep talked as Veronica prepared to kick her again.  
“What? Ow!” Trina rubbed her eyes.  
“You were talking in your sleep? Something about Ashton?”   
“Oh my god is he here? You found him!”  
“Not yet,” Veronica said.  
“Aww I was having the best dream.”  
“I don’t want to know about that,” Veronica said. “You need to go.”  
“Go? Where?”  
“I don’t know, just somewhere else, away from me.”  
“I thought you said it wasn’t safe.”  
Not safe, but the who had changed.  
“The fact that no one has found you yet, despite all your attempts otherwise, has convinced me no one is looking for you.”  
“What about Julio?”  
“Julio either doesn’t want to find you, or is so imcopentent, you could literally post your address online and he wouldn’t notice, either way, I need my bed and shower and quiet back.”  
“But where will I go?”  
“I don’t know, you have money, call a cab."  
"Not that much," Trina protested, " they don't pay understudies that much, and then there's taxes and dry cleaning, and I still have to pay the rhinologist."   
"Here," Veronica shoved a twenty dollar bill at her. Twenty dollars for Trina to go away right now sounded like a bargain. She bundled all of Trina's belongings and was about to pull her phone out of the hiding spot in the empty box of manicotti noodles in the cupboard but it was empty.  
Trina was already dialing someone. Veronica wondered how she had known to look there, or if she was just really hungry in the night, then decided she didn't care. It wasn't her job to babysit Trina Echolls. She pushed Trina and her stuff out the door and went back to bed.

After a few more hours of sleep Veronica almost felt bad about the way she had kicked Trina out. She called Logan.  
"Hey."  
"Hey, did your sister make it back?"  
"Haven't heard from her," Logan said.  
"Whatever I'm sure she's fine."  
"Desperate and delusional, but fine."

Veronica was at the market later, while standing in the checkout line she glanced at the magazine racks. There were several with Ashton Kutcher’s picture on the front. One claimed his body had been found, while the one right next to it claimed the whole disappearance was a hoax. ‘Psychic Tells All: Ashton Kutcher Spoke to Her in a Dream,’ right next to ‘Missing Actor Ashton Kutcher Spotted Outside Neptune California.’ She did not put much stake in the journalistic integrity of such supermarket fodder but it was only 3$. It could be turned into a collage if nothing else. Who didn’t love an Ashton Kutcher collage?

The magazine article reported an actor matching Kutcher's description was spotted by an unnamed female lurking in the woods while she had been hiking, around the same area Veronica had stumbled upon Trina. There was a grainy cell phone camera photo that could have been Ashton Kutcher, or an attractive hobo. Veronica wasn't sure she believed the story from this unnamed female, but she couldn't help but be struck by the coincidence of Ashton being spotted in the same place she had found Trina. The article said Kutcher's family was offering an undisclosed amount for a reward, which left Veronica's mind open to imagine. Looked like she wasn't done with Trina Echolls yet.

“You want to watch a movie tonight?” Logan asked that night.  
“Anything without Ashton Kutcher, or your sister.”  
“You want to narrow it down to less than a million possibilites?”   
“Nah,” Veronica lay back down on the couch, “other than that I don’t care.”   
Logan put on some mindless movie and they lay on the couch until there was a knock on the door. Logan opened the door to Dick’s wide grin, “Hey buddy! You miss your roommate yet?”   
“What’s up? I thought you were staying at your dad’s?” Logan held the door open and Dick waltzed in, followed by Madison Sinclair.  
Veronica sat up too quickly, but that wasn’t the only reason she felt a rush of blood to her head.   
“Dude you sound just like him,” Dick complained, “I can’t spend all day with him you know, he's all like 'I'm going to prison ' it’s kind of a bummer.”  
“Hi Logan,” Madison gave Logan an appreciative once over, a look that was lost on Dick, but not Veronica.   
“Oh,” she saw Veronica on the couch and her tone soured, “hello. So are you guys still together?”  
“Are you?” Veronica asked, looking between her and Dick.  
Madison shrugged.  
“We’re kind of busy,” Logan said.   
“Nah uh,” Dick said, spotting the TV, “you’re watching Madea’s Family Reunion again? Why didn’t you call me?”   
“I think I hear my phone,” Veronica lied, jumping up to retreat to the bedroom.  
“Aww don’t go,” Dick said, “I think I found a way you can make it up to me how you plowed my girlfriend.”  
“Oh please,” Madison rolled her eyes.  
“I could plow your girlfriend!”  
“Ugh,” Madison groaned.   
Veronica felt like she was in one of those dreams where you try to run away and can not, it was like her feet were rooted to the spot.  
“Seriously, it would help get rid of all these awkward moments, we could even have a threesome.” He put an arm around Madison’s shoulder, which she shrugged off immediately and shuddered, which was exactly what Veronica was doing.  
“That is literally the worst idea I’ve ever heard,” Veronica said.  
“No, not literally,” Dick argued. “It’s a worse idea than 9/11? What are you a terrorist?”  
Logan glanced at her and one look was enough.   
“You guys need to go,” he said.   
“I was joking,” Dick said, “lighten up.” Veronica knew the way Dick joked- it was always a joke, unless the other person was into it. “Fine, you guys look like you’ve been fighting, so we’ll just get out of your hair, I heard there’s a killer party at your sister’s.”  
“Trina got her own place?” Logan asked incredulously.   
“Yeah, she’s staying downstairs.” They turned to leave.  
“Later,” Madison said to Logan, or Veronica, or both.  
“Well that was unpleasant,” Logan said when the door had closed behind them.   
Veronica had moved beyond counting to ten in her head, she was counting in Spanish, French, and she needed to learn another language. But since she didn’t know another, “Madison Sinclair!” burst out. “Yuck!” It was as eloquent as she could manage. She wasn’t allowed to be mad, they had been on break, and yet she felt mad anyways, and it made her even madder that she wasn’t supposed to be.  
“I told you it was stupid, and she’s awful,” Logan said.  
“Awful?” Veronica fumed, for some reason this made her even madder. Madison Sinclair wasn’t awful, Awful was when someone wore plaid and polka dots. There weren’t even words to describe Madison Sinclair.   
“I don’t always handle things the best way,” Logan said.  
Veronica laughed bitterly, “no, you always f*ck them up!”  
“Look, I screwed up, but you said you forgave me. If you forgive someone you can’t keep getting mad about it.”  
“Don’t tell me what I can’t do,” Veronica said, the fact that she had been thinking the same thing just made it worse. She wanted to listen to the voice that told her it was okay to be mad.   
“I can’t change the past, so what do you want me to do?”  
“No, we can’t. Like we can’t go back in time to the night Madison drugged me and got me raped. We can’t undo that.”  
“Wait? What?” Logan’s head whipped around in surprise. “The girl’s a bitch but you don’t really think it’s her fault you got raped, do you?”  
“She spit in my drink!”  
“From what I’ve heard, she didn’t know her drink was drugged.”  
“That’s not the point,” Veronica gritted her teeth.  
“I’m not saying you shouldn’t hate her, but hate her for something she actually did, that’s not fair.”  
“Not fair?” Veronica seethed, “like when she wrote ‘SLUT’ on my car?”  
“Hate her for that. But if you’re going to blame anyone for what happened to you, you should blame Dick, or...me.”  
“Add it to the list,” Veronica said bitterly. She needed to get out of there. She’d leave her things, come back for them later. Except the keys, she needed the keys. She scanned the room but she couldn’t see them.  
“What can I do to make the list go away?”  
There they were, they were on the counter, she’d have to go around him.  
“Let’s talk about it,” Logan grabbed her arm, “instead of running away, remember? That was our deal.”  
“I, we’ll talk later, right now I just need. To be alone. That’s my deal.” Veronica snatched up her keys and was gone.

Veronica didn’t usually walk alone in the woods at night but at least she had Backup with her. And of course she had her backup backup. And she wasn’t too afraid of running into an Ashton Kutcher look alike.   
Her mind was still reeling. Logan had stood up for Madison. She could not forgive that, not on top of everything else. The reason she had felt so betrayed was that in her mind she and Madison stood on opposite teams, sparring in the game of life and Logan had switched teams. You didn’t switch teams, not even if you were broken up, you didn’t cross that line ever. But Logan acted like he didn't even know there were different sides. It would be like Veronica sleeping with Logan’s dad. So wrong and disgusting on all levels and seriously wtf Lilly? Veronica had never thought about it, Lilly and Aaron, that way before. She had loved Lilly but there had been something very wrong with her, Veronica realized all of a sudden. When you loved someone the way she still loved Lilly, you overlooked their misdeeds and transgressions. She still loved Logan too. 

It was too late for the birds and critters to be awake so it startled Veronica when she heard a rustling in the bushes. Backup stood alert and gave a low growl. Veronica hid behind a tree and reached for her phone, ready to snap a photo if it turned out to be the Ashton Kutcher look alike. The rustling grew louder. “F&*$%, ahhh!” it turned to screaming as someone stumbled out onto the path, someone twisting an ankle in a pair of **.   
Trina Echolls. Veronica groaned out loud.  
“Ashton?” Trina called hopefully.  
“Why am I having a feeling of deja vu?” Veronica asked, stepping out from behind the tree.  
“Veronica?” Trina asked, “what are you doing here?”  
“About to ask you the same question.”  
“Just out for a stroll.”  
Veronica eyed her shoes, “you just felt the need to what? Power walk off those jaeger bombs?”  
“Jaeger bombs?” Trina asked excitedly.  
“I heard you were having a party tonight.”  
“Oh yeah, big deal, I have a party most every night.”  
“But Ashton never comes does he?”  
“Well he’s missing.”  
“And you’re just so scared that your boyfriend killed him right? Because of a vicious false rumor that you yourself made up?”  
“Uh yeah.”  
“And you just have no idea where Ashton could be?”  
“If I did do you think I’d be standing here?”  
“As a matter of fact yes I do, thanks for asking! Because let’s cut the bull Trina, you’ve known this whole time that Julio didn’t kill Ashton. You weren’t hiding in the woods from your ex, you were stalking Ashton at the place he was last reported seen.”  
“What? Ashton was here?” Trina flashed an innocent smile.  
“Don’t play dumb Trina,” Veronica said, suppressing a laugh at the absurdity of that statement. “You know exactly where he is.”  
“No I don’t,” at that Trina broke down in sobs. “Okay, okay, I’ve been following him, but I swear, I really don’t know where he is!"  
"Explain." The one nice thing about Trina Echolls, besides the distraction she was providing Veronica, was that she loved to talk, and she knew the importance of a good story.  
"I wasn't lying about auditioning for Punk'd, that's how I met Ashton. We were friends for awhile, then he got busy but I know our friendship was important to him and I was just trying to remind him of that."  
"Remind him how?"  
Trina sighed, "by sneaking on his movie sets and leaving surprises."  
"What kind of surprises?"  
"Could be anything, sometimes pictures of me, or pictures of us together, homemade cookies and jam, you know I learned to knit for him, not that he seemed to appreciate it. One time I hid in his dressing room and I popped out wearing a whipped cream bikini."  
Veronica's mouth fell open. She had never understood the expression 'no words' so well before.  
"It was the kind of thing we'd do on Punk'd, whatever, I wouldn't expect you to understand."  
"From what I understand you were stalking him."  
"Stalking? That was hardly stalking!" Trina balked.  
"How would you define it?"  
"Stalking is something strangers do, not friends, not friends so close we're practically family! We are friends Ashton and me, I'm hardly a stalker!"  
"Okay, then why did he run away?"  
"I don't know. It's not like I can ask him."  
"What happened between your little visits and losing him in the woods?"  
"Well I met Julio, and we dated for awhile, and the magazine article and that was about it."  
"So the day he disappeared…"  
"I was visiting his set like usual but he didn't show up. There was all this additional press there because of the magazine article so I figured he was just hiding in the dressing room but when I broke in it was empty. So I went to his house but again, empty. There was a map on the counter open to Neptune California so I thought that must be where he was going, but he would need his map. So I was just going to return it to him, but he must have got lost without it because I was hanging out here for three days without seeing him. And then you showed up. That's twice that I thought you were Ashton Kutcher but you were just Veronica Mars."  
"That's me, breaking hearts and busting alibis. Do you still have the map?"  
"I," Trina's glance toward her purse gave her away.  
Veronica held out her hand.  
"But I really meant it when I said I was going to give it back to him!"  
"The more helpful you are the greater chance we have of finding him."  
Trina pulled out a dog eared map folded into a little square. Veronica almost expected it to be covered in lipstick kisses.   
"What's this?" Veronica asked when she had unfolded it. There was something circled but there didn't seem to be anything there. It was just a circle in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't far from the very woods they were standing in now. There was also a women's name 'Holly' and a phone number.  
Trina got grumbly when Veronica pointed to it. "I don't think Ashton knows anyone with that name," she pouted, "but she sounds like a whore."  
"We've been looking for Ashton and this whole time you've had a map of his possible last know location and you didn't mention it?" Veronica wished she could say this was the worst misdirection she had gotten from a client but to be fair most of them were like this. Help me but don't find out my true motives. However they hired the best and she or Keith always did, later rather than sooner.   
"I didn't think you'd help, if you knew the truth."  
"If I had a twenty dollar bill for every time I heard that. No seriously, I want my 20 dollars back."  
"I don't have it!"  
Veronica gritted her teeth, "fine, I'll just take one of those shoes," she motioned to the pair Trina was holding.  
"My shoe? No way!"  
"How much would one of those get me on Ebay? A grand per shoe?" Veronica reached out to grab one. Trina swatted her hand with the shoe in her hand.   
"You can just find some other way to pay me back," Veronica said. When she got the reward money for finding Ashton Kutcher and she wouldn't be missing her twenty dollars anymore.

Veronica left Trina in the woods and went home. Keith and Alicia were on the couch.  
"I thought you were staying at Logan's tonight?" Her dad said as they retreated to opposite ends of the couch.  
It was strange how much difference a year made. Last year her dad would have flipped if she had stayed over at her boyfriend's, now he practically encouraged it. Of course the fact that he was back together with Alicia played a big factor there. Privacy was scarce in their apartment.  
"Change of plans." Veronica said.  
"Aww," her dad said in a way that made Veronica know he knew they were fighting. "Do you want to talk about it?"  
"No!" Veronica slipped into her room and closed the door a little too loudly. How much difference a year made, and yet didn't.   
Veronica sat down at her desk and stared at her computer. She unfolded the map and searched for a map of Neptune online. She zoomed in on the spot that was circled. There was nothing there. Nothing but trees. Veronica switched to satellite view. Trees, sand, surf. In that order. There was nothing else. What could Ashton Kutcher have been interested in a bunch of trees?   
Her phone buzzed. Logan. She glanced at his name then turned it upside down and let it go to voicemail. There was a long pause before the new voicemail icon popped up and Veronica imagined Logan's long rambling message before she listened to it. She was about to listen to it then powered the phone off instead and put it in her desk drawer underneath a stack of papers like the distance would keep her away from her problems.  
She turned the map over and stared at the number. Holly. Holly…? She typed 'Holly' into the search bar and waited for any suggestions to pop up. Holly tree, holly Bush, holly Christmas. There weren't many celebrities named Holly.   
Veronica typed the number into the PI search database- it was registered to a Joshua Fennel. He had a Neptune address- a PO box, was born in 1970 and had a clean record- not so much as a speeding ticket. There was no marriage record, no financial record.  
Veronica drummed her fingers angrily on the keyboard.   
On an impulse she typed 'Joshua Fennel Holly,' into the internet search bar.  
She skimmed past recipes for fennel holly berry salad, and at the bottom of the first page of results she saw a link for an online literary magazine. The Neptune Voice. Contributors Joshua Fennel, Holly Mills.   
I know her. Veronica thought.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica writes through her feelings. Veronica, Logan and Trina share a moment on the roof of the Neptune grand.

Chapter 5

Veronica was putting the case together like a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle in her mind. Ashton had been off to seek Holly Mills and Joshua Fennel when he disappeared. The last Veronica had heard from her former Neptune high teacher she had been living with her boyfriend Josh, at the Moon Calf Collective.   
They must have moved their location, Veronica thought, after the debacle with her dad investigating them. To about, she touched the circle on the map, right there.   
The only problem was she had kind of burned her bridges with them after she had come clean about working with her dad to expose them, back when they had been investigating the collective for possibly being a cult. They had been nice about it, but Veronica doubted they would trust her, or welcome her back with open arms.   
Veronica perused the online literary zine run by the Collective, The Neptune Voice. There were issues dating back every few months. There were a few dozen writer's submissions. In the About section it said they all lived and wrote together at the Moon Calf Collective. 

Veronica read a submission from Holly Mills.   
“I am a flower   
I am a rose  
But how do you know  
I keep my beauty inside  
And if spring never comes  
That beauty dies with me  
I won’t open in coldness  
Icy words  
Bitter feelings howling like wind  
I will stay closed  
Only the sun  
Only a rainbow  
Only a kind word  
A hug  
A kiss  
A sweater  
Will see my beauty”  
Veronica was fond of the internet, where you could roll your eyes and not offend anyone.  
The piece from Joshua Fennel started: “I had to find a place to bury the body.”  
Veronica sat up in her seat. She liked this piece better already.  
After finishing Josh's attempt at a mystery story Veronica did not think he had killed Ashton. There was no way he would get away with it, that was a terrible place to hide a body. Veronica was inspired to write her own piece. Maybe if she submitted something and used a fake name she could earn their trust virtually before she ever brought up Ashton Kutcher. What better way to earn fake trust than with literary angst? It had worked before. Veronica opened a word document and started typing. She didn’t think she had any story in mind, but her fingers did.

“There’s a man sitting on a chair outside Mars Investigations. He holds his hat in hand so you can see the dark lines under his eyes. Other than this detail he is a handsome man, too young to have such worry wrinkles.   
“What can I help you with?” A young blond girl asks him. She must be the receptionist.   
“It’s about my wife,” the man says.  
“You think she’s cheating on you?” the blond girl guesses.  
“No, I cheated on her, I need you to help get her back.”   
“That’s not what we do here,” the petite blond says. “We break people up, we don’t get them back together.”  
“Please, you have to,” the man pleads, “my wife is everything to me, I’d do anything to get her back.”  
“Go to a shrink,” the girl advises.  
“If you don’t help me I’ll kill myself!”   
The girl stops, she shouldn’t care, she doesn’t even know this man, and yet there is something about her young face too, something about the lines under her eyes. The eyes that contain, some would call it wisdom, some would call it pain, beyond her years.  
“I’ll see what I can do,” she says. Not Mr. Mars, I.  
It does not take long for the girl to track down the man’s wife. She’s good at finding people and information. It’s what she does after she has found them that is the hard part. 

To say Madelyn Clairson is having a bad day would be like saying the stock market had a bad day in 1929.  
First her car is missing, stolen, likely crushed into a little cube. Also, her doctor misunderstood her and has accidentally given her sex reassignment surgery. Everywhere she goes a little blind girl trails her, not that she is clever enough to notice.  
She tries to go see her long time on and off again boyfriend but he freaks out when he sees her face. She calls every name in her little black book but all she gets is rejection. Desperate she calls that one night stand.  
"Don't call here," the voice is so harsh she thinks it must be the wife, the one that he wouldn't stop talking about. "You are hideous to me!" It is the man. Madelyn recoils, no one has called her hideous before, and he didn't even see her face.

"It's not enough," the wife says to the blond girl at their next appointment, "you're going to have to kill her."  
The girl nods, "I know just what to do." She revs a chainsaw.

Veronica found herself grinning as she wrote, slashing and splashing and chopping off hair as well as limbs. Writing was cathartic. Before she realized she had written over 20 pages. Yikes, she better only submit the first ten, she didn't want them to start to suspect her of being a murderer.

Veronica paused a moment before submitting, then penned the name Cindy Mackenzie to the top of her story. 

She was feeling better so she had the strength to listen to Logan's voicemail message.  
"Hey Veronica, I just, Trina's standing on the roof of the Neptune Grand, says she's going to jump, I mean, I'll believe it when I see it, she just asked for you, so I told her I'd pass along the message."

There was a crowd assembled outside when Veronica pulled up at the Neptune Grand. She could just barely make out Trina's figure on the top of the building. She rushed into the lobby, and nearly collided with Logan.  
"Going up?" Was all he said. They rode the elevator to the roof in silence. Veronica reached out and grabbed Logan’s hand. This was not the first time they would be talking down a jumper on the roof of the Neptune grand. She knew without a word that they were both thinking it. Logan squeezed her hand.

It was windy on the roof. Trina perched near the ledge in one stiletto, one barefoot. She appeared more likely to accidentally fall than jump. She sneered at them when she saw them.  
"Trina, come on inside," Logan said.  
"Why should I?"  
"There's booze and some floozy was asking for you."  
Trina brightened for a moment,"really? What does he look like?"  
"Uh blond hair, muscley...Fabio..."  
"You!" Trina scowled, "you're lying. I can always tell when you're lying cuz you're talking."  
"Do it so I don't beat the @#$% out of you!" Veronica said.  
Trina looked like someone had slapped her. Unfortunately she was too far away.  
"We've been through enough," Veronica continued.  
"Eh Veronica?" Logan gave her a quizzical look, clearly confused by her tactics. Veronica had never claimed to be good at this. In fact given their track record it would seem just the opposite.  
"I've been through enough," Trina whined, "I can't take it anymore!"  
"What could you possibly have gone through?"  
"Failed auditions! Logan's right, I can't get a speaking roll! I even got turned down for that clearazyl commercial. Ashton thinks I'm a stalker! And now he's run away because of me and he might be dead!" Trina wailed.  
"You know what your problem is? You never stop thinking of yourself."  
"Who should I think about?"  
"Logan and I both lost our mothers."  
"Oh that's right, and I lost my step mom," Trina said.   
Veronica put up a hand to stop her. "We lost Lilly Kane, who we loved. Then your dad almost killed me."  
"Oh you two," Trina rolled her eyes, "I don't get why you two are always saying daddy is so, was so violent. He was always sweet to me."  
"That's amore," Logan started singing.  
Veronica wasn't done, "Logan was nearly killed by PCHers last year and then framed for murder. While I was investigating the case he saved me from getting a face tattoo from the fighting Fitzpatricks. Then I found out I actually was raped and we had to watch the person that did it jump off this very roof after he held us at gunpoint and nearly shot Logan."  
"Whoa I'm not sure I understand all that." Trina said.   
Veronica was still not finished. "Then last year I was nearly raped again, twice, one time left in a parking lot missing part of my hair, and the other time I was almost drugged out of my mind and Logan got arrested just so he could beat up the guy that did it."  
"If you guys have been through all that then what do you still have to fight about?"  
Veronica looked at Logan, Logan looked at her, she looked at Trina.  
"I can hear you through the walls." Trina said.  
"It's complicated," Veronica said. She had just spilled their life story to Trina but didn't want to tell her what had nearly broken them up. Compared to all they had been through the Madison thing sounded lame and soap opera-y.  
"Sounds very. Like TMI to be honest. But seriously, you guys should be together forever, I mean if I ever found someone like that, who would stick through that with me," a tear slid down Trina's cheek. "He's your Ashton."  
Veronica opened her mouth to protest but she was drowned out by a helicopter. It whirred over head.  
"Hey Trina," Logan said, "I think you're going to be on the evening news."  
"That's all I ever wanted."  
"Let's go inside so we can watch it," Logan led her towards the door.  
"That's all I ever wanted."

When Veronica checked her email the next morning she had a reply to her submission.   
"Dear Cindy,  
Thanks for your interest in our literary magazine. You have a lovely voice and a unique perspective. Currently we only publish works from our members. Why don't you come out sometime and see what we're all about? We'd live to meet you!  
Holly Mills,"

Veronica pulled out her phone and called Mac.   
“Mac, I’m going to need your help on a project.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mac visits the Moon Calf collective in search of Ashton Kutcher.

Chapter 6

“You want me to what?” Mac looked at Veronica like she had just told her she was going to have to go to the prom with Butters again.  
“Just go and talk to these people, and look around, and see if you see Ashton Kutcher around.”  
“Which one is he again?”  
Veronica clapped her hands together, a throw back to her old pep club days. “Did someone say movie night?”

“This plan is idiotic,” Mac complained. They were lying on the couch, a bowl of popcorn between them.   
“I told you, I can’t go there cuz they all know me and don't trust me.”  
“No I meant the movie, I mean why don’t they just go to a different hotel? And how are they going to get the room service guy in on it?”  
“Mac, let’s focus on the real life plan, okay?”  
“I can’t focus with this idiotic crap going on in the background! I can’t believe you own this movie!”  
“It's for research.” Veronica said, stuffing popcorn into her mouth as she spoke so that she wouldn't be pressed to explain further. She would never admit it, even to Mac that romantic comedies were a guilty pleasure. There was something comforting about knowing whatever scrape the two lovers got into it would all be resolved in 90 minutes, with a nice song at the end and a happily ever after, if only because you never saw them again. It was her secret shame, one of her secret shames.

Mac stood outside the entrance to the Moon Calf collective. She fiddled with the camera that was stuffed uncomfortably in her bra. According to the map Veronica had given her she was here but she didn't see anything. She wasn't sure what she expected- surely not a 'welcome' sign, nor pearly gates, nor a bunch of people in long dresses and bonnets. She might have been picturing one or all three of those things on the long drive up here.  
She wandered between the trees, calling "hello?" tentatively. She both did and did not want to find these people.  
She walked on and the sun became warmer as the trees thinned out. She had reached a clearing. There was a large group of people sitting in a circle. Mac waved awkwardly and then noticed that everyone's eyes were closed. They were sitting criss cross applesauce with their hands on their knees, palms pointed toward the sky. Mac pulled the camera out and took a few photos. No one looked up or reacted to her presence. She walked around the circle, taking more photos. She didn't see anyone that looked like the dude in the movie but she'd let Veronica decide. After what felt like an obscene amount of photos she stood awkwardly to the side and was just trying to decide if it would be more or less creepy to join them or keep staring. She stood for what felt like hours trying to decide.  
Finally one in the group stood up and started banging a drum and they all opened their eyes and stood and began chanting.   
Now someone noticed Mac.  
"Hi," the woman said, she pulled Mac close to her and gave her a hug before Mac could shield herself. She hugged Mac like she was her long lost sister.  
"I'm Cindy," Mac said, when she could breathe again.  
"Of course you are, I always know a writer by her piece.  
We were just going to paint, do you want to join us?'  
Holly found Mac a paintbrush. "Feel free to take your clothes off."  
"Excuse me?" Mac also had Veronica's taser hidden on her person.  
"Some of our members like to paint with their whole bodies," Holly said, "it really frees the creative spirit."  
Mac sputtered as a large naked man covered in blue paint began rolling on a giant canvas.  
"I think I'm good," she managed to say. She kept her eyes on her own work, forgetting momentarily that she was supposed to be looking for someone. This was not a time for cameras, nor eyeballs.   
"Everyone this is Cindy," Holly addressed the group.   
"Hi Cindy," everyone boomed back. Mac had never hated the sound of her own name more.  
"Cindy is a writer," Holly said.  
"No I'm not!" Mac blurted out, "I mean, not a real writer."  
"What is a real writer?"   
"You write then you're a writer."  
"I guess I'm also a painter then," Mac mumbled.  
"Didn't we go to school together?" A comely boy asked.  
"Errr, did we?"  
"Yeah, Neptune High, class of 06."  
"Now that you mention it you do look like an 09-er, I mean familiar."  
"I'm Casey Gant, you used to have blue hair."  
"And now I just have blue hands," Mac jokes lamely, holding out her paint hands. It was better than a blue something else, she still couldn't look.  
"I'm a writer too," a girl introduced herself, "I'm Misty."  
Mac had to fight her instinct which was to avoid meeting new people. She let the girl shake her hand and get yellow paint on her blue hands. They were puse now. She had a gross thought that what if people had paint on them all the time and everytime they touched you you could see it forever and it just did not mix with your skin at all. Actually that was a pretty accurate way of describing how she felt when most people touched her.  
"So Misty," Mac asked, " have you seen anything here worth writing about?" Did that sound suspicious?  
"Oh totally, this place is so inspiring. What do you write about?"  
"Celebrities mostly, celebrity sightings, you ever seen anything like that?"  
"Oh no, I haven't, I don't think I've ever read that genre."  
"I've been having writer's block lately."  
"Oh no!"  
"Yeah, can you think of anything that might help me? Anything around here?"  
"I know just the thing. Come with me."  
Mac followed Misty. She led her past some houses.  
"Wow, so do you people actually live out here?"  
"Uh huh, we have a community farm and garden and we harness our energy off the creek. We're totally self sufficient."  
"Do any celebrities live out here?"  
"We're not that fancy," Misty said, "we don't have mansions or butlers, or pools."  
"Yeah, but what about one on the lam?"  
"Who did you have in mind?"  
"Oh I dunno, like maybe Ashton Kutcher?"  
"I don't know who that is, sorry, I don't watch a lot of TV, we don't get it out here."  
They must not get news either, Mac thought, since every local channel was pretty much talking about Ashton non stop, like nothing else ever happened. Either that or she was playing it cool. Mac grasped the hidden taser. What if Misty was the real murderer? Maybe she shouldn't have followed her so readily.  
"We're here," Misty said.  
Mac looked up into a large waterfall.  
"Ohhh," Misty breathed, " I come out here to write all the time."  
Once Mac was sure Misty wasn't about to push her down the waterfall, but instead actually expected her to write something Mac made up an excuse about low blood sugar and walked back to the commune.  
Everyone was eating lunch around a set of picnic tables.   
"Sandwich Cindy?" Holly offered.  
Mac was going to decline, this place was creeping her out, but then her stomach growled and food was practically forced upon her.  
"Pickle?" A mustachioed man in a chef's hat and apron asked, he held out a pickle speared on a fork.  
"No thanks, wait, do I know you?"  
The man dropped the pickle fork and ran.

“He was totally there,” Mac said.   
“You saw him?"  
“I mean, he had a disguise but, yeah, I could tell.”  
"Did you get a picture?"  
"Did I get a picture? What kind of detective's assistant do you think I am? Of course I got a picture."  
Veronica eagerly uploaded the pictures to her computer and looked through them.  
"What? I don't see anything?"  
"That's him," Mac found the one and pointed.  
Veronica squinted. "All I see is a man running away."  
"So he offered me a pickle right?" Mac said, "and I was like no thanks, cuz I don't really like pickles, and then I saw him, he was wearing a fake mustache and I think a fake nose, "but I asked if I knew him and he ran away."  
"But Mac, this picture."  
"I couldn't get the camera out before he ran away but that's his back. Trust me."  
"I do," Veronica said, "it's just that yesterday you didn't even know how he was."  
"And yesterday night you made me watch that lame movie and now I do. It was the same guy. I'll go back if you want and get your money shot, now that I know they're not murderers."  
Logan came into the room,  
"Err Veronica."  
"What?"  
"It's the news, I think you outta see this, they say they found Ashton’s body.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Check back for updates.  
> If you enjoyed please check out my- [ Author Page ](https://emilyuhlig.com)


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